Description of the picture:
Overgrown pond. Domotkanovo – Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov. 1888. Oil on canvas. 70.5×89.2
The evening sky hung over the old pond. The trees on the shore seemed to bend on purpose to see their reflection in the still water. Leaves of water lilies covered the pond with a greenish-brown blanket. Everything is ready to fall into a dream.
The author frankly admires the landscape that has opened, tries to convey to the viewer his admiration for Russian nature. The multicolored sky colors the vegetation on the water surface in silver. The picture clearly feels the atmosphere of late summer, bordering on autumn. The last rays of the sun have become entangled in the branches of trees, a light wind is trying to release them.
The water surface is so perfect that it seems that the crucian carp lost in the water lilies is about to splash its tail, violating the unnaturally ideal water mirror. Golden clouds are disheveled by the wind.
The viewer hears the sounds of an August evening: the chatter of grasshoppers. The landscape seems familiar and close to everyone. The author managed to make it so reliable and accurate that it creates a sense of presence."